Felicia Msiza
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us today.
I'm Felicia Msiza, CEO of Raubex Group. Joining me is Dirk Lourens, our COO, Sam Odendaal, our FD, and Grace Chemaly, our Company Secretary and Legal Advisor.
It is a real pleasure to welcome you to our presentation of the audited final results for the year ended 28 February 2026. This has been a year of real progress for us, one where we've continued to build on the strong foundations laid in prior years.
We've seen solid performance across most of our divisions, our balance sheet remains in excellent shape, and our order book has grown to record levels. I'm genuinely proud of what the team has delivered.
Before we get into the detail, I want to acknowledge our people: the men and women across all five divisions who make this business what it is. Their commitment, expertise, and hard work are at the heart of everything you'll see in these numbers today.
Let's get started. I'll begin with a brief overview of the agenda and then take you through the highlights before handing over to my colleagues.
As you can see on your screen, we've structured today's presentation into four key sections. I'll kick things off with a brief overview of Raubex, who we are, what we do, and the strategic context for the year.
From there, I'll hand over to Sam, who will walk you through the financial overview in detail. After that, Dirk will take you through the operational overview.
Then I will come back to close out with our outlook and strategy. There will be time for questions at the end.
Let's dive in. Let's start with the first section about Raubex.
I think it's always worth taking a moment to remind ourselves of who we are and what makes this group unique, especially for those who may be newer to our story. Raubex has grown from a focused road construction business into a truly diversified infrastructure group.
Today, we operate across five divisions. Each one brings a different capability and serves different parts of the infrastructure value chain.
Together, they give us a resilience and breadth that very few of our peers can match. Our geographic footprint is another important part of the unique story.
We have a strong presence across Southern Africa, and our Australian operations give us exposure to a developed market with its own set of opportunities. This diversification, both in terms of what we do and where we do it, is a deliberate strategic choice, and it continues to serve us well.
Let me now take you through the highlights of the year. Looking at the year in review, this slide gives you a high-level snapshot of where we stand as a group after what has been a defining year for Raubex.
The message is clear: we delivered solid performance, our balance sheet is strong, and our strategic positioning continues to improve. Starting with the financial performance, the group delivered a solid performance across the majority of our divisions.
Our balance sheet remains in a very strong position, and we generated R1.75 billion in cash from operations, a robust result that reflects disciplined execution and effective working capital management across the group. Our five-division structure is now fully embedded.
This restructuring has brought greater accountability and a more focused management attention within each division. From an operational standpoint, we continue to prioritize operational efficiencies.
This is not a one-time exercise, but an ongoing discipline that is yielding measurable results. The Infrastructure division delivered exceptional growth driven by their execution capability, securing of new contracts, and continued strong performance in renewable energy projects.
They have secured their presence in the renewable sector. Our Roads and Earthworks division once again delivered beyond expectations, exceeding margin targets through strong execution and discipline.
In Construction Materials, we navigated difficult weather conditions and market uncertainty in certain segments. Despite these constraints, our teams remained resilient and focused on operational stability.
Our Australia division was negatively impacted by one project, which is now complete. This loss was the single biggest factor weighing on the division's overall results.
The rest of the companies in Australia performed well. We have implemented measures from the lessons learned from this.
Our strategy for Australia stands to continue growing at a measured pace, and we are confident in the outlook going forward. A particularly meaningful achievement was the turnaround of Bauba Resources after an extremely challenging period.
Through focused leadership, difficult decisions that were made, and by no means least, absolute sheer determination, this business moved from a loss to profitability. This outcome is truly a testament to perseverance and teamwork under pressure.
Regarding Bauba Resources, the strategy process to evaluate strategic options is ongoing, and we will communicate further information as the process advances and greater clarity becomes available. Our order book is a real highlight.
It grew by 11.6% to R31.6 billion. This is a quality order book, and I want to emphasize that we are not simply chasing volume; our focus remains firmly on executing profitably.
I will take you through the order book detail later in the presentation. The diversified nature of our business model continues to spread risks and create opportunities across different sectors and geographies.
Looking at the tender pipeline, it remains strong with healthy activity across all divisions. We are being selective; we want opportunities that offer the right risk versus reward profile.
Recent awards across all five divisions give us confidence that the market recognizes the capability and reliability that Raubex bring to the table. In summary, a strong year with solid financial delivery, improving divisional performance, a record order book, and a healthy tender pipeline.
Let me now hand over to Sam, who will take you through the financial detail.
Sam Odendaal
Thank you, Felicia. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Just from my side as well, very pleased to present the financial highlights for a good set of results for the year 28 February 2026. Looking at the group financial highlights, our revenue increased 4.6% to R22 billion.
Operating profit increased by 11.6% to R1.74 billion. Headline earnings per share increased to 611.3 cents per share, and we've generated good cash from our operations of R1.75 billion; that's down 30% from last year.
Capital expenditure decreased 10.9% to R1.2 billion. Our order book is currently at record levels of R31.46 billion.
The group's operating profit margin increased to 7.9% from 7.4% in the previous year. We declared a final dividend of 121 cents per share to bring the total dividends declared for the year to 202 cents per share.
Return on capital employed is slightly down to 14.8%. Looking at the summary of income statement, we did look at the revenue and the operating profit and margins.
Net finance cost increased to R91.4 million. The biggest reason for the increase is the increase in long-term liabilities with the acquisition of Meukop and Axis, as well as less interest earned on a lower cash balance.
Profit after tax is R1.165 billion. The effective tax rate came down from 29.8% to 29%.
We expect this to go down even more in the next financial year; more normalized levels will be around 28.5%. This year, the non-controlling interest returned to profitability again with R66 million contribution by them.
The minority interest is mostly impacted by the Australia performance and also Bauba Resources. Earnings per share is at 610.2 cents per share.
We look at the segmental analysis. That's the makeup of the revenue and the operating profit per division as a percentage of the total revenue and operating profit for the group.
On the revenue side, revenue in the Materials Handling and Mining division is contributing 20% of the group's turnover. The Construction Materials division contribution is similar at 16%.
Revenue in the Roads and Earthworks division is making up 32% of the group's turnover. The Infrastructure division revenue contribution increased from 16% to 20%, mostly because of the increase in renewable work.
Then showing Australia as a separate division this year, the contribution was 13% to the group's turnover compared to 16% of the previous period. In summary, the contribution of revenue is a good spread between the five divisions and in line with last year.
If we move over to the operating profit distribution, it was a good distribution by all the divisions except for Australia, which was impacted by the loss-making project. If we look at the Materials Handling and Mining division, operating profit contribution increased to 26% compared to no contribution in the previous year.
At Koornfontein, the improvement was preliminary driven by the introduction of treat PGM sales in the second half, together with a more favorable chrome price environment compared to the prior year. The PGM price also significantly increased during the second half of the year.
At Muilak, performance was improved following the ramp-up in production after the transition to a new underground mining contractor, with operational efficiencies improving through the second half. The improvement at Bauba was also well supported by another good performance by B&E and SPH.
The Construction Materials division contribution decreased from 23% to 18%. Operations in this division were impacted by adverse weather conditions at the beginning of the year, as well as the negative effect of the ferrochrome smelters on the industrial minerals sector.
This reduction was mostly offset by the increase in gypsum sales. Operating profit contribution in the Roads and Earthworks division also decreased from 38% to 35%.
All projects in this division is performing well with a big focus on execution. Infrastructure division contribution increased to 35% of the group's total operating profit, with the biggest contribution in this division coming from the renewable operations.
Australia contributed 20% of the group's operating profit in the previous period, with a current contribution of -4% because of the loss-making project this was completed during the year. We expect a much improved performance by this division in the new financial year.
Moving to the geographical segment analysis, first looking at the revenue, South African operations contributed 81% to the group's turnover. Revenue in the rest of Africa again making up 6% of the turnover.
In Australia, the revenue contribution decreased slightly to 13% of revenue. If we look at operating profit contribution, the Australian operations reported an operating loss for the period, contributing slightly negative.
Because of a negative contribution by Australia, both the South Africa and rest of Africa operations contributions increased. The South African operations contribution was 87% of the group's profit, with the rest of Africa contributing 16% to profit.
The biggest contributors to the rest of Africa are the Namdeb project in Namibia, the Bela-Bela quarry operations in Botswana, and the Senqu River bridge project in Lesotho. This is a look at the group's performance over the last 5 years.
Over the last 5 years, the group has delivered consistent growth in both revenue and earnings, with operating profit now at approximately R1.7 billion. The growth is not purely top-line driven, but reflects a clear improvement in earnings quality over the period.
On a 5-year compounded basis, operating profit has grown at a higher rate than revenue, demonstrating sustained margin expansion and operating leverage across the group. This reflects the continued focus on operational efficiencies and cost discipline, which is expected to support further profitability as these initiatives continue to mature.
It is encouraging to see the significant increase in the contribution by the Infrastructure division since 2025. This growth is a direct result of the division's strategic focus on renewable energy projects, with a renewable order book now translating into revenue and profit.
For the group over the 5-year period, performance has progressively diversified, with different divisions contributing more meaningfully at various points in the cycle, reflecting an increasingly balanced earnings base. What this slide reinforces is that diversification remains a core strength of Raubex, both from sector and geographical perspective, enabling the group to absorb volatility in certain areas while sustaining overall earnings through stronger-performing operations.
Cash generation from operations also increased over the period. We are in a growth phase, and the lower growth in cash generation typically reflect working capital absorption and higher activity levels.
The reduction in operating cash flow in this financial year is partly because of the introduction of PGM sales, where cash receipts lagged deliveries. A revolving financial structure has been implemented to bridge this timing gap, resulting in higher receivables and a temporary impact on operating cash flow while remaining cash-neutral overall.
The year-on-year movement was also impacted by normalization in timing of supplier payments relative to the prior period. In addition, higher inventory levels, particularly within the mining operations, further contributed to the working capital outflow.
In line with operating profit, the group has maintained strong earnings per share over several years, even through challenging marketing conditions. The resilience in HEPS demonstrates Raubex's ability to generate sustainable value.
Return on capital employed is slightly down to 14.8%. With a positive outlook for the medium term, we expect the return on capital to improve.
The group still have a strong balance sheet. The result is that we have enough available facility in place to participate and to capitalize on new opportunities.
The biggest assets is property, plant, and equipment, and it increased by 16.2% to R6.49 billion. This increase is mostly attributable to the acquisitions of the Meukop silica operations and Axis Minerals in Australia.
The increase in the deferred tax asset is mostly because of the tax loss in Australia. Inventories increased by 36%.
The increase is made up of chrome, PGMs, and gypsum stock. The PGM price increased significantly towards the end of the year, and that impact the year-end stock number.
Cash and cash equivalents is at R1.87 billion compared to R2.12 billion last year. With the increase in property, plant, and equipment, borrowings also increased by 20.6%.
Our debt-to-equity ratio is still at acceptable levels, around 34%. The group's net asset value per share is up by 10.4% to R40.50.
Capital spend reached a peak in February 2024 with spend of R1.76 billion. The group has a big drive to reduce capital spend, and in this financial year, capex reduced to R1.2 billion.
Expectations are for capex spend to decrease even further to below a billion in 2027 financial year. The big reason for the reduction is due to the fact that most expansion capex spent on the mining operations are now complete.
As reflected in the composition of capex, the Mining division has been the primary contributor to capex spend over the last few years. As mentioned in the balance sheet commentary, the cash decreased from R2.12 billion to R1.87 billion.
This slide indicate the major cash inflows and outflows. We generated cash from operations of R2.44 billion before working capital movements.
Net working capital outflows was R706 million, with outflows in inventories, debtors, and creditors, and there were inflows in contract assets and contract liabilities. The group paid tax of R502.7 million.
The biggest cash outflow was from investing activities, an outflow of R1.16 billion. This include replacement and expansion capex requirements of the group, and also three acquisitions with outflows to the value of almost R200 million.
Net borrowings was an inflow of R190.6 million, and the group paid dividends of R387.3 million. That brings us to a closing cash balance of R1.87 billion.
The group will declare a final dividend of 121 cents per share. The interim dividend was a dividend of 81 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 202 cents per share.
This is in line with our normal three times dividend cover policy. Below is just the relevant dates for the dividend payments.
I will now hand you over to Dirk Lourens to take you through the operational overview.
Dirk Lourens
Thanks, Sam, Felicia. As it is customary, I will begin with outlining the group's different divisions.
This is also the first time that we will report a set of full-year results, as mentioned by Sam and Felicia, featuring the five divisions. The five divisions consist of the Materials Handling and Mining, Construction Materials, Roads and Earthworks, Infrastructure, and now the fifth one, Australia.
The biggest change is that due to the size and importance of the Australian operations to the group, management decided to manage and report Australia as a standalone fifth division. Secondly, OMV are now managed and reported as part of the Construction Materials division, where previously they were included under the Mining and Materials Handling division.
There are also two new additions to the group, namely Qmisa Engineering Services, a company that specialized in mechanical and electrical works, with a strong focus on water treatment and wastewater treatment plants, and Axis Mineral Services, a respected leader in crushing and screening and mining services in Western Australia. Looking at the Materials Handling and Mining division, starting off, the division specializes in four main disciplines, naming: contract crushing and screening; materials handling and mineral processing services for the mining industry; contract mining; and specialized resource ownership through investment in Bauba Resources.
Revenue for the division is down by 3.2% to R4.127 billion from R4.263 billion. Operating profit increased more than 100% from R4.2 million to R445 million.
The operating profit margin also increased to 10.8%. Capital expenditure is down from R637 million in the previous period to R509 million.
The secured order book increased from R3.35 billion in the previous period to R6.38 billion. Next, we look at B&E International.
B&E International delivered an exceptional performance for FY 2026, supported by strong execution across their key operations. Operational performance exceeded expectations, supported by strong margins from improved plant utilization, maintenance execution, and management.
Namdeb contract volumes normalized during December 2025 after the curtailment was uplifted, and we received a further extension to the contract until March 2030. Secured new manganese and iron ore contracts, complemented by an increase in the SANRAL-related crushing work, assisted in the increase of their secured order book.
Mozambique operations returned to full capacity after the force majeure restrictions were lifted. This had a positive impact on the regional performance.
The turnover benefited from intercompany synergies, including revenue from group-related services and contributions from new start-up projects, as well as the Rosslyn plant commissioning. We now look at SPH Kundalila, who focused on boosting returns from major mining investments, improving operations, upgrading its fleet, and building skills through research and digital innovation.
They delivered a strong performance for FY 2026, supported by solid operations at the Koornfontein mine. The Arnot Quarry experienced a notable uplift in volumes in Q4, driven by the award of long-anticipated mine infrastructure tenders.
Saldanha also maintained steady operational performance throughout the period. Look at Bauba Resources: they delivered a marked turnaround in performance for the year, supported by major operational improvements across the business, with Koornfontein remaining the anchor operation within that business.
Production pressures in H1 eased by midyear as plant ramp-up challenges stabilized and chrome prices recovered, contributing positively to year-end results. The mine started the new financial year in a much stronger operational position.
At Koornfontein mine, performance accelerated in H2 with the commissioning of the PGM plant and securing the offtake agreement, driving increased PGM sales and reinforcing the mine's strategic importance. At Muilak mine, performance strengthened during H2 following the transition to a new underground mining contract.
They managed to boost profitability with improved safety, better alignment of the mining methodology with management. At Naboom mine, they progressed well with early development activities: site establishment as well as overburden stripping and mine plan optimization.
If we look at the Materials Handling and Mining division where we split Bauba Resources, the first one if we look at the combined Bauba, Bauba's revenue decreased by 8.1% down to R2.4 billion from R2.61 billion. Operating profit increased over 200% from an operating loss of R205.8 million to an operating profit of R243.7 million.
Operating profit margin of 10.2% up from an operating loss margin of 9% in the prior period. EBITDA increased to a positive R396.7 million, up by 603% from a negative R78.8 million in the previous period.
The average USD-to-rand exchange rate weakened by 4.7% over the period. The met grade price for 40% to 42% CIF China varied between a minimum of $235 to $315 per ton.
Total run-of-mine production decreased by 18% to 1.54 million tons from 1.87 million tons in the previous period. Total run-of-mine tons sold increased by 274% up from 40,000 tons to 150,000 tons.
Total tons chrome concentrate sold decreased by 24.6% from 823,000 tons to 620,000 tons. We sold a total of 9,845 ounces of PGM concentrate in this period.
Capital expenditure decreased by 16% from R481 million to R404 million. We now look at Muilak mine on its own.
Muilak mine revenue decreased by 28.2% to R672.1 million from R935.7 million. Operating profit increased by 106.6% from an operating loss of R245.3 million to an operating profit of R16.1 million.
Operating profit margin strengthened from an operating loss of 26.2% to an operating profit of 2.4% in this period. EBITDA increased to a positive R66 million, up by 137.2% from a negative R177.2 million in the previous period.
Capital expenditure increased by 118.8% from R28.7 million to R62.8 million. Total production decreased by 27% from 339,000 tons to 247,000 tons.
Total tons chrome concentrate sold decreased by 23.5% from 224,000 tons to 171,000 tons. Next up, we look at Koornfontein mine.
Koornfontein mine revenue increased by 3.1% to R1.73 billion from R1.6 billion in the previous period. Operating profit increased with more than 200% to R251.6 million from an operating loss of R4.9 million.
Operating profit margin up to 14.6% from a break-even in the prior period. EBITDA increased by 349.5% to R346 million from R77 million in the previous period.
Capital expenditure decreased by 33.3% down from R446.6 million to only R297.7 million in the current period. Total ROM production decreased by 21% to 1.21 million tons, down from 1.53 million tons.
The total run-of-mine tons sold increased by 274% up from 40,000 tons to 150,000 tons. The total tons chrome concentrate sold during the year decreased by 25.1% from 600,000 tons to 450,000 tons.
All the PGM concentrates that were sold in Bauba was from Koornfontein, and we sold a total of 9,845 ounces. Next up, we look at the Construction Materials division.
This division specializes in the supply of aggregates from commercial quarries, ready-mix concrete, industrial minerals, as well as asphalt and bitumen predominantly for the construction sector. The revenue increased by 8% from R3.241 billion to R3.5 billion.
The operating profit for the division decreased by 13.4% to R312.5 million from R360.9 million in the prior period. The operating profit margin also decreased to 8.9%, down from 11.1%.
The capital expenditure decreased from R222.4 million to R169.6 million, and the secured order book increased from R2.13 billion to just shy of R3 billion. If we look now further to the aggregates portion of the Construction Materials division, the aggregates business bounced back after experiencing revenue delays in the first half caused by production disruptions due to adverse weather and temporary site closures during Q1.
Second-half year results reflected steadier productions and year-on-year improved volumes supported by positive momentum in the Eastern Cape and stronger returns from the upgraded Gauteng crushing plants. The acquisition of the Meukop silica quarry introduced a high-potential niche market opportunity, with early customer uptake encouraging.
As usually, Bela-Bela quarry in Botswana continued to perform exceptionally well. If we now look at the asphalt portion, the year commenced with a slow secured order book.
Fortunately, the award of several contracts towards the end of the financial year rapidly strengthened the project pipeline. These developments supported an excellent overall performance by the business, even though production volumes were slightly below the prior year's level.
Some notable successes were the completion of the asphalt supply on the two mega N3 KwaZulu-Natal roads projects. Tender activity remains strong, supported by ample production capacity.
Next up, we look at the bitumen side of the business. Tosas delivered a strong and resilient FY 2026 performance, underpinned by disciplined execution, effective working capital management, and strategic investment in technology, infrastructure, and our people.
Following Natref's closure of local bitumen production in September '25, South Africa now relies entirely on imported bitumen, increasing exposure to geopolitical and oil price-driven supply chain risks. Despite these uncertainties, National Asphalt and Tosas remain well positioned, supported by robust supply agreements and adequate storage capacity to serve the market without interruption.
Despite lower overall volumes, Tosas still delivered an excellent performance, outperforming expectations while benefiting from strong tender activity and a resilient market demand. We now look at the industrial minerals, gypsum, and ready-mix, including bentonite.
The industrial mineral segment faced a difficult year, with no bentonite sales due to the uncertainty around the future of the South African ferrochrome smelters. Management is exploring diversification opportunities, such as expanding the cat litter operations as well as ready-mix concrete business.
Gypsum performed strongly, supported by favorable agricultural conditions, increasing cement sector demand, and boosted further by the strategic acquisition of a large gypsum stockpile. Our ready-mix operations delivered results in line with expectations and remain well positioned to benefit from improvements in market conditions.
Next up, we looking at the results for the Roads and Earthworks division. The Roads and Earthworks division specializes in delivering comprehensive roads construction, doing bulk earthworks, mining infrastructure like haul roads and tailings storage facilities, and then Roadmac specializes predominantly in road surfacing and rehab projects.
The revenue increased by 4.9% to R7.130 billion from R6.796 billion in the previous period. Operating profit increased by 4.3% to R612.7 million from R587 million in the previous period.
Operating profit margin remained stable at 8.6%. The capital expenditure increased to R296.7 million from R204.3 million.
This was predominantly due to the equipment that we bought for concrete paving. The secured order book decreased from R13.61 billion to R12.69 billion.
If we now look more to the detail of the Roads and Earthworks division, the standout performance of this division was largely the result of a disciplined execution across the whole order book. Some noteworthy contracts awards during the year are the upgrade of the N2 between Bloemendal and Piet Retief valued at R3.22 billion for SANRAL; the N2 between Versameling and Leiden with R2.36 billion, also for SANRAL; then we've been awarded the upgrade of the N4 between Zeerust and Botswana border at R324 million for Bakwena; and then also for Bakwena, the N1 between Doornpoort interchange and Pumulani mainline plaza valued at R276 million; we've also been awarded the upgrade of the road between Reitz and Kestell for the Free State provincial government to the value of R324 million.
The two N2 projects involve the construction of concrete highways. It's a method becoming more economically viable due to improved material efficiencies and long-term durability.
We've also completed the construction of the Senqu River bridge in Lesotho, and the official inauguration was on the 22nd of April '26. Next up, we look at the performance of the Infrastructure division.
They specializes in disciplines outside of the road construction sector, including energy with specific focus on renewable energy and battery storage facilities, facilities management, telecommunications, housing infrastructure projects which include commercial building refurbishments and construction. The revenue increased by 30.2% to R4.353 billion from R3.342 billion.
Operating increased significantly by 42.2% from R427 million to R300 million [as spoken]. Operating profit margin strengthened to 9.8% from 9% in the previous period.
Capital expenditure of R94.6 million, which is down from R98.5 million, and the secured order book is almost flat at R7.5 billion. We look more to the detail.
The Infrastructure division delivered a consistently robust performance for the full financial year. The order book remains full, supported by strong pipeline of secured work, extending into future financial years.
The renewable energy portfolio continues to gain strong momentum, anchored by the R2.4 billion wind farm cluster near Moorreesburg, as well as the recent award of the R1.66 billion Beaufort West PV project, reinforcing the group's growing presence in the renewable energy market. The construction of the parliament building in Cape Town is progressing well and is making good progress.
The design and construction of the mechanical and electrical works for the upgrade and expansion of the Potsdam wastewater treatment plant remains on schedule, with Raubex's consortium share value of approximately R800 million. The division further expanded their concrete structures capability through a newly established geotechnical team specialized in piling, slope stabilization, and ground engineering solutions.
Affordable housing projects continued to show strong progress, with notable wins such as the 2,020-bed Tshwane North TVET student housing project and ongoing strong sales at our Nieuwe Steyns development in Stellenbosch. Raubex has been awarded preferred bidder status for the Lebombo border post project, forming part of the national border modernization program.
To support strategic objectives, as well as diversify our income streams, Raubex acquired Qmisa Engineering Services to strengthen our mechanical and electrical capabilities, particularly in the water and wastewater treatment side. We now look at the detail of the fifth division, and it's the first time, as we've mentioned, that we report it separately.
The Australian operations specialize in road construction, earthworks, and civil construction for landfill construction and capping, with a strong focus on road surfacing and rehabilitation. In addition to their expertise, the division is also actively involved in renewable energy projects, particularly the development of wind farms and battery energy storage systems.
Revenue decreased by 14.4% to R2.937 billion from R3.433 billion in the previous period. Our operating profit decreased 120% to an unfortunate operating loss of R60.4 million from an operating profit of R304 million.
The operating profit margin decreased to an operating loss margin of 2.1% from an operating profit margin of 8.9%. Capex is down from R190 to R130.3 R134.3 million.
The secured order book increased from R1.74 billion to R1.93 billion. If we look at more detail, the division had a varied performance across its operations, with one major mining contract settlement driving the division's primarily financial loss.
Despite the legacy contract's negative effect on yearly results, the remainder of the portfolio remains stable and on budget. Look at Raubex Roadmac Australia: they continued to expand their market presence, delivering profitable projects and maintaining strong momentum into FY 2027.
Westforce Construction delivered an excellent performance, securing new work, including a wind farm award, with an additional A$75 million wind farm contract under negotiation. Their order book remains lighter than ideal, but early signs of growth are positive, supported by ongoing tender activity.
In line with its strategy, the group expanded its value-offering capabilities in Australia with the acquisition of a 67% interest in Axis Mineral Services, broadening the division's crushing capability and strengthening future contribution potential. I will now hand over back to Felicia for the last section: outlook and strategy.
Felicia Msiza
Thank you, Dirk. Now I'd like to bring us to the final section of today's presentation: our outlook and strategy.
Starting with our order book, as I mentioned earlier, our order book has grown 11.6% to R31.46 billion. That is a good order book for the group, and it reflects the quality of our positioning and the strength of the pipeline in our markets.
What I'd like to draw your attention to is the composition of our order book. If you look at the pie charts, you'll see that our private sector work now represents about 34% of the order book, up meaningfully from 27% last year.
This is a deliberate strategic shift. We've been actively growing our private sector exposure to reduce reliance on any single client category, and our strategy is clearly working.
SANRAL remains our largest public sector client at around 22%, and you'll see the concessionaires at about 10%. International work, including the rest of Africa and Australia, makes up roughly 18% combined.
This is a well-diversified order book. On timing, R17.76 billion is earmarked for execution in FY 2027, which gives us strong revenue visibility for the year ahead.
Beyond that, we have R7.12 billion for 2028 and R4.26 billion for FY 2029, and about R2 billion beyond that. This gives us a multi-year runway that we feel very comfortable with.
Looking at the order book in terms of the timeline per customer, you can see that private sector contracts dominate the near term, about R6.8 billion in FY 2027 alone. SANRAL work is spread more evenly across the timeline, with R3.1 billion in FY 2027 and meaningful volumes extending into FY 2029 and beyond.
That's the nature of large national road programs: they give us long-dated visibility. International work, which includes the rest of Africa operations, shows R2.7 billion for FY 2027, with a healthy tail extending beyond FY 2029, reflecting the longer-term nature of some of our cross-border projects.
The key takeaway here is that our order book is not front-loaded book; we have genuine depth across the timeline, which gives us confidence in the sustainability of our revenue base. Looking at our order book history, as I normally take you through this during the results presentation, this order book trajectory over the past 7 years, and I think the trend speaks for itself.
If you look at 2020, we've grown from R10.1 billion to R31.5 billion today, more than tripling the order book in 6 years. What's actually pleasing is the quality of this growth.
Looking at the private sector bar, it's grown from R3.1 billion to R10.7 billion. That's more than a threefold increase, and it reflects our success in positioning ourselves as a contractor of choice for our private clients.
SANRAL has remained a steady and significant contributor, consistently around the R6 to R7 billion range. Provincial work has picked up nicely to R3 billion, and concessionaires, which only started reporting separately from 2023, have grown to R3.1 billion, reflecting the increasing importance of concessionaire maintenance work in our mix.
The bottom line is that this is a business with a strong, growing, and increasingly diversified order book, and we are not chasing volume for its own sake; we are focused on profitable execution. Looking at customer per division, Roads and Earthworks holds the largest share at R12.7 billion, with SANRAL as the dominant client at R7 billion, followed by concessionaires and then provincial work.
This division has a strong public sector anchor. Infrastructure division sits at R7.5 billion, and here the mix is quite different: private sector work dominates, with other parastatals contribution and the international work at about R1.3 billion.
This reflects the division's strength in private industrial infrastructure and energy projects. Materials Handling and Mining has grown to R6.4 billion and nearly doubling.
Private sector and international clients are the key drivers here, which aligns with the recovery in commodity prices and increased mining activity we are seeing. Construction Materials holds about R3 billion, which is in the private sector, while Australia sits at about R1.9 billion.
The important thing to note across all divisions is the diversity of clients; no single division is over-reliant on one customer category. Then final on our order book, we look at the segmental analysis.
As Sam alluded to earlier on, when you look at Roads and Earthworks, it represents 40% of the total order book, Infrastructure 24%, Materials Handling and Mining 20%, Construction Materials 10%, and Australia 6%. In rand terms, every division except Roads and Earthworks grew its order book year on year, and even Roads and Earthworks decline is modest in absolute terms, from R13.6 billion to R12.6 billion, while maintaining excellent quality.
Let's now move on to our ESG performance. ESG remains important to how we run our group.
Let me highlight a few matrices on this slide. Starting with safety, our LTI rate halved to 0.19 from 0.37, a nearly 49% reduction and achievement by our site teams.
Looking at B-BBEE, we maintained our Level 1 B-BBEE rating under the Construction Sector Codes. Our workforce remains stable at just over 9,200 employees.
Training spend was R42.1 million, while CSI spend increased 18.3% to R35.6 million, reflecting our commitment to the communities we operate in. On the environmental front, Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions rose 2.6% to around 279,000 tons.
For the first time, we are reporting Scope 3 emissions at approximately 223,500 tons based on supplier spend. Electricity consumption increased 4.2%, while water use was broadly flat.
These are areas we continue to monitor closely. Women represent 17.4% of our workforce, and HDSAs 86.2% of our South African team, both areas where transformation efforts continue to progress.
Looking at total employment, this is a slide that I'm particularly proud of because it speaks to the impact Raubex has just beyond financial returns. Total employment across the group, including both direct and indirect, now stands at over 22,000 people.
That's a 14.7% increase from last year. When you consider the multiplier effect of each of these jobs in the communities where we operate, you start to appreciate the real social impact of what we do.
Our direct employment, as I've highlighted in the previous slide, is stable, while indirect employment has grown meaningfully. This growth in indirect employment reflects increased activity level across our divisions and the subcontracting and supply chain opportunities we create.
Moving on to our communities, let me just share three of the examples of what we are doing in terms of impacting our communities. Our Sbudatso initiative has been a real success story.
Through this program, we've produced approximately 18 tons of fresh produce and provided around 72,000 meals. Beyond the immediate nutritional benefit, this program is designed to create self-sustaining micro-enterprises that continue to serve communities long after our direct involvement ends.
We've also been supporting education through our sponsorship at Hopefield High School, where we funded the school fees of 10 previously disadvantaged children. Our Beekeeping Incubator program is another initiative I'm proud of.
We've provided specialized beekeeping equipment to 10 beneficiaries, setting them up for long-term independent operation. It's a small program in the context of our group, but it represents exactly the kind of sustainable community-level impact we want to drive.
We aim to leave communities stronger, more connected, and better equipped for the future. Looking at our 2026 safety performance, safety is always in the forefront of what we do, and for good reasons.
Every person who comes to work on a Raubex site deserves to go home safely at the end of the day. We achieved 9 consecutive months with no fatalities during the financial year.
Our fatality rate reduced by 50%, and our LTI dropped by 44%. Our LTI rate improved, and our total recordable injury rate came down.
The trend lines over the past 3 years are clearly heading in the right direction, and that's a testament to the safety culture we are building across the group. Several of our operations achieved LTI-free status for the full year, which is outstanding.
Looking ahead to FY 2027, our key focus areas are execution and accountability at site level, proactive risk management of our priority risks, verification of critical controls by leadership, and importantly, elevating employee well-being as a priority. Safety isn't just about preventing injuries; it's about looking after the whole person.
Our future focus strategy: implementation of our strategy remains on track. Our strategic pillars remain the same, that is: growth, profitability, being a preferred supplier to our clients, alternative markets speaks to our diversification strategy, the use of technology, public-private partnerships which are representing a growing opportunity in South Africa and in Africa—we are well positioned to participate in this structures.
Our people are our greatest asset, and investing in their development, safety, and well-being is non-negotiable. Finally, ESG and sustainability, which we've just covered in the previous slide.
All these are woven in our strategy and in everything that we do. Bringing it all together, despite the geopolitical uncertainty that we are all navigating, the group anticipates a more positive outlook for FY 2027.
We are seeing encouraging opportunities across all five divisions, and our positioning has never been stronger. I want to acknowledge the global macro environment: there is uncertainty out there, geopolitical tensions, trade dynamics, and policy shifts that could affect our markets.
We have various initiatives in place to mitigate these risks. As Raubex has demonstrated time and again that it remains resilient even during periods of uncertainty.
Our growth strategy is underpinned by four fundamental strengths: first, our diversified business model—multiple revenue streams across infrastructure, materials, and mining that reduce cyclical risk; second, our committed workforce—over 22,000 empowered employees driving operational excellence across every division; third, our strength in leadership—we have an experienced management team with deep industry knowledge and a proven track record; and fourth, our healthy balance sheet, which gives us the financial firepower to pursue strategic acquisitions and invest in organic growth. As I conclude, let me now give you a sense of the outlook for each of our five divisions going into FY 2027.
Materials Handling and Mining has strong momentum heading into the new year. Chrome and PGM prices are recovering, and our production is trending towards full capacity.
Cost efficiencies are strengthening profitability, and we continue to evaluate strategic options for our Bauba Resources shareholding. We'll update the market on that as developments materialize.
Looking at the Construction Materials division, they have a solid pipeline and a strong market position. Government's continued commitment to infrastructure investment supports our outlook, although we remain mindful of geopolitical risks and tender award timing uncertainties.
Moving on to Roads and Earthworks, they enter FY 2027 with a robust outlook. SANRAL's national road upgrade commitments provide a strong anchor, concessionaire maintenance obligations continue, and we are seeing expanding tender opportunities across Africa.
Infrastructure division has a strong order book, and we are excited about the expanding PPP opportunities, affordable housing projects, and renewable energy growth. The Lebombo border post project is expected to commence later in FY 2027.
In Australia, outlook remains positive, with strong opportunities across road infrastructure and renewable energy. We are securing new work, and we will continue to grow at a measured pace, supported by attractive market fundamentals.
The Western Australia state budget announced just this past week for FY 2026-2027 with spending earmarked for the Water Corporation, Western Power, and Main Roads remains encouraging, and our teams are well positioned to deliver. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the close of today's presentation.
Thank you for being here. Before we move to questions, I'd like to acknowledge our people for their resilience and the impressive second-half turnaround that they delivered as a team.
To our management teams and subsidiary leaders, thank you for your dedication. To our stakeholders, clients, suppliers, and shareholders, we truly value your ongoing support.
To our board and Exco, your guidance and leadership continue to be central to the group's success. With that, Sam, Dirk, and I are available to take your questions.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Felicia. We've received quite a few overlapping questions, which I'm going to try to group together to avoid duplication.
Our first question is: How should we think about diesel and fuel cost increases impacting group profit, and how much is this part of the overall group costs, and then also regarding bitumen supply security?
Sam Odendaal
Thank you, Grace. Yes, obviously, the impact of the Middle East, there's no direct impact, but on an indirect basis, it definitely is impacted.
It's affecting inflation and also the fuel prices. We're not sure at this point how long it will persist, we've looked at it on a month-to-month perspective.
Currently we are looking at about R25 million cost to the group per month through all the divisions. Most of that we can recover; I'd say about 60% of that cost is recoverable from third parties.
It's just on the mining side where it's not possible to recover most of that. The CIF prices needs to change for us to get that impact.
Overall it's about R25 million. On Bauba, we are busy looking at the Eskom connection at Koornfontein.
That is being tested this month. From next month, we will be on electricity there, and that should mitigate or ease some of the cost impact.
At this point in time, about R25 million. There's no effect on supply at this point in time, not diesel supply and also not bitumen.
There's no structural impact on the balance sheet; it's purely a cost effect. As I said, through contractual escalations, CPA, rise and fall, we should be able to recover about 60% of that cost.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Sam. Our next question is: Can management please expand on the new contract wins within the Infrastructure division?
Dirk Lourens
Thanks, Grace. Yes, the new or the increase in the outlook forward is made up predominantly of awards that we've received in the energy sector, of which the most prominent one is the Beaufort West PV project of about R1.6 billion.
Over and above that, we received another few contracts with regards to transmission and distribution lines to the value of about R700 million, a lot of smaller contracts in the PV space of about R300 million, and all of this is in the energy side. Then the other major awards that we received is in the building side with regards to student accommodation and affordable housing, and that is to the value of about R1.2 billion.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Dirk. Our next question: Can you please provide guidance for this financial year at Bauba relating to production and costs?
Sam Odendaal
Thanks, Grace. I think there was a lot of questions on Bauba, I'm going to try and cover most just now.
We've got the two operations mainly at Bauba, which is Koornfontein and Muilak. At Koornfontein, the targeted production is 80,000 tons.
We've been achieving that throughout this year, we don't see that changing in the next financial year. There is ad hoc run-of-mine sales; quite a bit of it came through this year, and we anticipate similar run-of-mines for quantities for next year as well.
We've been working through a lower-grade area, which impacted negatively on production costs. We're still not 100% through that section, I think next year should be fairly similar to this year.
At Koornfontein, I think the big change has been the sale of PGMs. We've been selling about 9,000 ounces in this financial year, and we expect that to double for next year.
We're looking at 1,500 ounces per month. Currently the split, about R330 million of revenue is attributable to PGMs, and we expect that to double in the next financial year.
Overall margins at Koornfontein should be fairly similar, except for the bump-up of the PGMs. Then if we look at the Muilak mine, it was a new underground miner at the beginning of the year, we were ramping up.
Targets there is to get to about 40,000 tons. Towards the latter part of the year, we got close; I think we're close to about 35,000 tons now.
There should be an increase in revenue from Muilak mine as '27 will be a full year of production there. At least if you look at the operating profit line, we are making profit or starting to make profit at Muilak, and we expect that to continue in the next financial year as well.
To summarize, currently I think the sales is totally R2.4 billion of revenue, and we expect that to hopefully go up to about R3 billion. The operating profit, difficult, but between 10% and 15%.
Obviously, it all depends on the chrome price. A big reason for the increase in profits this year is because the chrome price, it is increased quite a bit from the previous year, and we expect these current levels to be maintained in 2027.
Obviously the exchange rate has got a big impact on profitability and also on the revenue line, and that might impact numbers quite a bit depending on where the exchange rate is.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Sam. Our next question is: What do you expect in terms of working capital for next year given the absorption this year?
Sam Odendaal
Working capital is quite a big requirement for a construction company, but as I said, there has been some timing costs that came through in this financial year, there should be a benefit in an uptick in working capital requirements for the next year.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Sam. Our next question: The Construction Materials order book has surged the last 12 months, but this has not reflected yet in revenue.
Is there a lag?
Felicia Msiza
Thank you, Grace. Yes, in terms of the Construction Materials, particularly around the volumes, those were actually impacted by the adverse weather that we experienced at the beginning of the financial year.
Yes, there is a lag, but those volumes are not lost, but they are actually pushed forward.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Felicia. In the Roads and Earthworks division, your current revenue as a percentage of order book is running below typical levels.
Is this expected to pick up?
Felicia Msiza
In terms of Roads and Earthworks, you have to look at it in terms of the contracts that we're actually executing. In terms of revenue, it has been consistent over the years.
The contracts that we are executing are typical mega projects, which spans over 3 years on average. On the other question, yes, we are expecting an increase in terms of the order book because there are awards that we are waiting for.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Felicia. Our next question: In the Infrastructure division, any idea of battery storage penetration in South Africa?
Dirk Lourens
Thanks, Grace. Yes, currently we are working on a few projects, busy with negotiations and finalizing the contracts for battery energy storage facilities.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Dirk. Our next question: Is carbon tax material to the group?
Any concerns around the increases effective this year?
Sam Odendaal
No, carbon tax is not material at all in the group. I think it's currently less than R5 million, no real effect on carbon tax.
Most of the levies is paid through the fuel cost.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you, Sam. We've just had a question to please repeat the issue of the diesel costs.
There seems to have been a connection issue at that point.
Sam Odendaal
The diesel cost is running at about R25 million per month. That's throughout the group, and we should be able to recover about 60% of all those costs.
I said that the only place where we can't is in the Materials division or the Mining division where we can't recover most of it, but the rest is all recoverable, all 60% of that R25 million cost.
Grace Chemaly
Thank you very much, Sam. That seems to be all the questions for today.
Thank you very much for your participation.
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